On-Line Colleges - Are You Ready For That Degree?

by sheila danzig

Contrary to common belief, distance learning has been around for a long time. Prestigious English institutions, including Oxford University, have been using it for many years.

However, it is true that, as technology has advanced, the popularity of distance learning has increased. In the olden days, lectures were delivered via radio, and later, television. Now that the Internet is so widely used, you can obtain your undergraduate, graduate, or even masters degree on line. More than 85% of four-year colleges currently offer online courses. It is simply more practical for some people to obtain their education online because of the convenience and flexibility of doing so.

The United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA) predicts that, over the next few years, 2.3 million American students will be taking advantage of distance learning. Clearly there is a growing demand for such programs, and universities recognize that.

Even prestigious schools like Yale, Harvard and Duke Universities now offer online courses, and the selection of courses offered is constantly being expanded. Duke was one of the first prestigious universities to offer an MBA that could be completed entirely online. Therefore, there is a good chance that you can study the program of your choice from home, no matter what you are interested in.

Universities typically offer everything from engineering and mathematics to religious studies and gender studies in their online curriculum. You can typically expect to do a lot of independent study, reading, and essay-writing if you take an online class. Some professors also like to engage with their students via on-line chats in realtime. Some students like the option of taking an online course or two during a semester, and taking the remainder of their courses on campus. In 2006, one in six college students was enrolled in at least one online course.

The profile of the typical university student is changing. Today the majority of students are either studying part time, taking two-year programs, or over the age of 22. Alternately, some people prefer to obtain their entire degree via distance learning. In 2005, more than 1.2 million adult students were signed up to take their entire degree or certificate programs online. The possibilities are constantly expanding. In fact, it is now even possible to take the preliminary courses of a medical degree on-line, or obtain a law degree solely via distance learning. Distance learning is ideal for individuals with busy home lives and lots of other commitments; approximately half of all online students are married and have children. It can also be beneficial for those students who are self-motivated and do not thrive in large classroom settings. Interestingly, online students are usually more introverted and have higher intelligence than their on campus counterparts. Enrolment rates at universities across the nation are steadily increasing, and it is expected that there will be a 13% increase by 2015. This means that classrooms will become more crowded, and for some students, it is easy to feel lost amidst a sea of a few hundred other students in large lecture halls. As strange as it sounds, online instruction can actually feel more personalized in comparison! That said, it appears that distance learning is the way of the future.